Criminal case against Aiken funeral director continues | Aiken area public safety and court news

The federal criminal case against George Funeral Home owner Cody Anderson has been adjourned until November 6.

On August 21, Judge Joseph Anderson Jr. issued an order continuance of Anderson’s case – that is, postponing the court hearings – until the next court date.

Columbia attorney Greg Harris agreed to represent Anderson on Aug. 9, Judge Anderson said in the order.

Harris requested an adjournment to allow more time for deliberations, review of evidence and to continue the “ongoing dialogue with the government regarding resolution of the case,” Judge Anderson continued.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office did not object to Harris’ request.

Therefore, “the court concludes that an adjournment in this case is both necessary and justified,” Judge Anderson said.

A federal grand jury indicted Cody Anderson and Thomas Allen Bateman Jr. earlier this year on charges of bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

Bateman pleaded guilty on August 14 and is awaiting sentencing.

The charges stem from Anderson’s attempt to administer the estate of Mary Margaret Wenzel Crandall based on a will she signed in 2020.

Crandall named Anderson as her personal representative in her will. A personal representative is responsible for distributing the deceased’s assets according to his or her wishes.

Crandall left her entire fortune to Bateman.

Federal prosecutors alleged that Crandall signed the will between May 1, 2020, and September 30, 2020, in a car in the parking lot of George Funeral Home.

Prosecutors allege Bateman drove Crandall to the funeral from the nursing home where she lived.

Anderson instructed three other employees of the funeral home George Funeral Home to testify as witnesses for the will, the prosecution said in the indictment.

These employees did not know what they were seeing, prosecutors added.

After Crandall died on January 5, 2022, Anderson filed paperwork the next day to have her multi-million dollar estate verified.

Anderson also tried to use Crandall’s will to obtain assets from a bank and a brokerage firm, prosecutors said.

Second District Judge Courtney Clyburn Pope—the case was removed from probate court due to a dispute over the will’s validity—ultimately threw out the will because it did not meet the witness requirements for a valid will under South Carolina law.

When the will was rejected, Crandall’s estate was distributed according to a will she signed in 2001.